Incredibles 2
I’ve never been one of those who fans who have been constantly asking for a sequel to The Incredibles. I like the movie fine, but I never felt the urge to see what those characters are up to now.
And it seems like neither is Brad Bird, who seems to be treating this like a standard sequel that may as well have come out a couple years after the first (you know, instead of 14 years). It’s seemingly picking things up right where they left off, everyone seems the same age, and the stakes don’t seem to be dramatically increased. It’s just another adventure with these characters, which I suppose is a somewhat refreshing approach, if a tad underwhelming at first glance.
But hey, this is Pixar, and Brad Bird is in desperate need of a hit after the disappointing disaster that was Tomorrowland, I’m sure this will be just fine.
The Incredibles 2 will hit theaters on June 15th.
Hotel Artemis
Wow, looks like John Wick is already starting to influence other movies, huh? Jokes aside, this is hitting so many buttons for me, it’s insane. A modestly budget futuristic sci-fi actioner with a cast that includes Sterling K. Brown, Jodie Foster, Jeff Goldblum, Charlie Day, Sofia Boutella, Jenny Slate, Dave Bautista, Brian Tyree Henry, and Zachary Quinto? Where the hell did this even come from?
The answer to that is Drew Pearce, co-writer of Iron Man 3, and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, who makes his feature length directorial debut here. I am honestly really excited for this, this style of movie with this cast, it’s almost too good to be true (which, considering it’s not being distributed by Global Road Entertainment, who are still very new in the industry, it might very well be), but for now, I’m keeping my hopes up. This looks incredibly cool.
Hotel Artemis will be released on June 8th.
Blindspotting
Everything I’ve heard about this when it played at Sundance earlier this year has been very interesting. Comparisons have been made to films like Do The Right Thing, which I consider to be one of the great American films, so that’s encouraging.
It’s also cool to see Oakland become a prominent location nowadays, between what Ryan Coogler did with Fruitvale Station, the bookends on Black Panther, Sorry To Bother You, which is coming later this year, and now this, it’s cool to get a look at a different community than what we typically see in so many movies. It’s maybe not a huge thing, but I find it interesting.
Either way, this looks really good, and I’m excited to see what comes of it.
Blindspotting will come to select cities July 20th.
The Equalizer 2
I honestly didn’t even care much for the first Equalizer, not necessarily because it was an “in name only” adaptation of the TV show, but simply that it was way too long for the kind of movie that it was. It definitely had its moments, but it’s a dad movie through and through.
However…I can’t help but giggle at how awesome this looks. There’s just something inherently satisfying about seeing Denzel Washington wreck people in the most brutal ways. I won’t be surprised if director, Antoine Fuqua, keeps leaning on his less than compelling impulses, but for the time being, yeah, I’m into this.
The Equalizer 2 will be out on July 20th.
Hereditary
In the future, I’ll avoid talking about trailers for movies here that have already had trailers out, but since I didn’t get a chance to talk about Hereditary yet, so let’s do this.
This is another film that’s been making waves in the festival circuit, and I’ve heard nothing but stellar things. I still have no real idea what is happening here, but I’m totally fine with that because I like the mood, I like the anxiousness of it, and it just looks intense. I’ve been sold on this since the first trailer, so I don’t have much else to say about it, but I am very much looking forward to this.
Hereditary will be out in theaters on June 8th.
In Darkness
A gritty neo-noir thriller about a blind woman who gets unwittingly caught up with some crazy underworld conspiracy starring Natalie Dormer as the blind woman, while also having a co-writing credit? Sign me the hell up! This looks kind of awesome.
Yeah, some of the plot details feel a bit business as usual for this genre, but I’ve never seen one of these with a blind lead, and from the looks of it, the director/co-writer/Dormer’s fiancé, Anthony Byrne, looks like he’s bringing a lot of energy and style to the proceedings. Yeah, this just looks really cool to me.
In Darkness will be released on May 25th.
A Kid Like Jake
This looks lovely. It’s interesting to see one of these kinds of movies from the perspectives of parents as they realize how different their young child is. It doesn’t seem to shy away from some of the uncomfortable questions that might pop up in one’s mind at a situation like this, but approaches it all in a very empathetic way.
Granted, similar to something like Love, Simon, the characters might have to deal with some struggles, but in all likelihood won’t have to deal with *a lot* given their upper-middle class status. It will still be a struggle, but they won’t have to deal with some of the more, let’s just say “harsher” consequences that people who aren’t white and well-to-do have to be worried about.
It’s not a criticism, but it is worth pointing out that this is ultimately just one specific perspective on an experience that is different from a lot of other people. But it can still be helpful and necessary despite that.
A Kid Like Jake will hit select theaters on June 8th.
Anon
I have a lot of…questions about how how this world supposedly works, but I’m willing to give writer/director, Andrew Niccol, the benefit of the doubt. As hit or miss as he tends to be, he’s at least consistently trying to make thoughtful, relevant, and inventive films over the years.
I can’t quite tell if this will be another Gattaca or another In Time, I feel like some of these ideas run the risk of stumbling into hacky, technophobe territory very easily. But I like Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried, and it looks like there’s a lot of style and intrigue here. I don’t know what exactly to make of it, but I’ll give it a shot.
Anon will be available on Netflix May 4th.
Thoughts on any of the trailers? Feel free to discuss in the comments below!